Related Stories

Maybe that’s why he’s out in front of his fellow general managers when it comes to player participation — his players — in the World Baseball Classic.

With 15 Brewers on provisional WBC rosters, Melvin’s Milwaukee Brewers had more than any other club.

“Without money generated from this tournament some smaller countries might have to shut down their baseball federations,” said the Chatham, Ont., born Melvin. “When our guys ask me I tell them what a good idea the tournament is, it helps spread the game.”

Not every GM, assistant GM, farm director, share Melvin’s opinion. The commissioner’s office has instructed every team to make its players eligible as long as they are healthy.

Yet there are plenty of “go if you want, but we’re giving your innings to someone else, you decide” or “nothing is guaranteed when you come back,” discouraging lines.

Wink wink.

Nod, nod.

“When I was young, the National Hockey League was a six-team league and I think every player in the league was Canadian,” Melvin said. “I remember when Tommy Williams became the first American to make the Boston Bruins in 1961.

“Look at it now.”

Baseball is global too.

A total of 28 countries tried to qualify for the third WBC, whittled to a 16-team field for the second round. Canada begins play Friday afternoon against Italy, meets Mexico Saturday and Team USA on Sunday. The top two teams from the pool advance.

Each country receives $300,000 US for making the final 16, half of which goes to players in salaries ($5,347 per player). The sum is not life-altering money, like signing bonuses handed out each summer to high schoolers and collegians.

Canada paid manager Ernie Whitt, coaches and support staff the same leaving a profit of roughly $70,000, which is important since baseball does not get the funding it used to since Olympics punted the sport from the Games.

Each country is paid another $300,000 for making the second round ... a mountain Canada has never climbed.

“This is the closest thing we have to the Olympics, when everyone plays for the name on the front of the jersey rather than the name on the back,” Melvin said. “Players come from other countries to the majors but they are so proud to play for their home country. Especially Canadians.”

Yesterday, Melvin’s Brewers took on Team Canada, losing 7-4.

The game was one with interesting dynamics:

n Brewers manager said Ron Roenicke said this is the first time he has ever rooted for the opposing team’s pitchers, with Brewers relievers Jimmy Henderson and John Axford pitching.

Henderson pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing a base hit, a walk and a drive by Josh Prince to the left-field corner which Adam Loewen snared. Axford worked a scoreless ninth.

n Cale Iorg played short while his father Garth Iorg, coached in the Brewers dugout.

“I don’t think I’ll get any help from my father, but I asked (starter) Chris Narveson to lay a couple in there,” said Iorg.

Iorg popped up against Narveson and was 0-for-3 before hitting a double off eight-year veteran Tom Gorzelanny in the seventh.

n Brewers Marco Estrada, asked Melvin who was going to root for if Estrada started against Canada?

Noting the 65-pitch limit, Melvin replied: “I’m with you the first 65 pitches ... after that I’m cheering for Canada.”

Melvin was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in St. Marys in July along with the gold medal winning 2011 Pan Am team, manager by Ernie Whitt.

“I saw the passion and the pride Ernie has for the program, when he spoke about his guys being on the podium with Team USA on one side and Cuba on the other, it was genuine,” said Melvin. “The other day Adam Jones was on TV talking about wanting to be part of the first Team USA to win the WBC.

“Watching the Dominican Republic play the Philadelphia Phillies on TV, Jose Reyes, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Edwin Encarnacion they were going at it: 15 runs, 28 hits off the Phillies.”

A right-hander, Melvin pitched seven years in the minors in the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees systems.

“This tournament is something I wish was around and had a chance to go to when I was playing, we were lucky if we played 20 games a season,” said Melvin looking whist fully at the players in red taking batting practice.

Melvin watched Team Canada beat Team USA 8-6 in 2006 and before heading upstairs to sit with his assistant Toronto’s Gord Ash, said: “It’s kind of neat seeing all those Canadian kids out there.”

And it would be “neater” for guys like president Ray Carter, Jim Baba and Greg Hamilton, who run Baseball Canada, to be in the second round, next week in Miami.

AXFORD ALL BUSINESS

The back-end of the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen walked by the front end of the Brewers first base dugout Tuesday afternoon.

“Jimmy Henderson and I walked together,” said John Axford. “Jimmy and I looked in and gave them our best stink eye.”

When the Brewers open the season, Calgary’s Henderson is scheduled to work the eighth and Axford of Port Dover, Ont., will get the final three outs.

Axford, who worked a 1-2-3-4-5 ninth for the save yesterday against the Brewers, was asked if any of his teammates looked up and smiled before digging in?

“I didn’t look in at anyone, I never look at faces, just the (catcher’s) fingers for the sign,” said Axford, who said after the game Scooter Gennett wished him “good luck” in the World Baseball Classic, which Canada opens Friday against Italy.

ALL EYE ON PITCH COUNT

Right-hander Shawn Hill is being asked to get Canada off on the right foot Friday afternoon against Italy.

Hill worked the fifth and allowed a run on two walks and a hit batter.

In six innings this spring, Hill has allowed 10 hits and three earned runs, while walking six and striking out four.

“Physically I’m pretty close, right now I’m struggling to get a feel for my sinker right now,” said Hill. “The pitch has plenty of movement and my off-speed pitches are fine.”

Did Hill, 31, feel any pressure being asked to go out and put up some zeros against Italy in the WBC opener.

“Nothing compares with starting against Cuba in the 2004 Olympics semifinal due to both the situation and how young I was at the time,” said Hill. “I want to do what I’m capable of doing ... go out and throw strikes.”

The pitch-count limit for the first round of the WBC is 65, however, if a starter goes over 50 it means he needs four days of rest.

No one knows if Canada will advance, but it has to plan as if it is going to, so that means Hill will come out before he hits 50 pitches. If Canada advances he would not be able to start the second-round opener Tuesday in Miami.

“It’s the same for every team,” said Hill, who will likely be followed to the mound by Scott Mathieson, who pitched 1 1/3 innings scoreless against the Brewers.

This spring Hill had three outings for the Detroit Tigers: Allowing three runs on two hits and three walks against the Blue Jays; one earned run in 1 1/3 innings giving up a homer to Houston Astros’ Brent Wallace and five hits and one earned run in 2 2/3 innings against the New York Yankees.

Get out the pitch counter.

WHAT'S IN THE NICKNAME?

The Canadian Goose is in full flight.

But where did Scott Mathieson pick up his nickname?

Mathieson was rooming with Cole Hamels, the Phillies first-round pick, second-rounder Zack Segovia and fifth-rounder Jake Blalock in 2002. They split gas costs and living expenses in Clearwater.

Hamels was golfing when his club — borrowed from an older player — slipped out of his hand and wound up in a pond.

“Hamels said he’d pay my gas if I went in and got it,” said Mathieson. “I’m a dumb teenager, what the heck. I told him to buy me goggles and I’d do it.”

So into the stagnant water Mathieson jumped wearing his Phillies shorts.

“He bought me pink Barbie goggles,” Mathieson explained. “I found three clubs and a bunch of golf balls before I found his.”

Mathieson rose out of the pool triumphantly only to see Phillies minor-league instructor Bill Dancy on the tee. The minor leaguers ran for cover, especially since they’d been told not to wear Phillies grab out and about.

“Next day, Dancy gathers everyone, tells the story and the punch line is ‘suddenly this Canadian Goose comes out of the pond.’ The nickname stuck after that.”

Mathieson went back and posed beside a sign which read Warning: Alligators.

“I hadn’t seen that and didn’t know about water moccasins,” he said.

Scout Jim Fregosi, Jr. travelled to see Mathieson pitch for the Langley Blaze before the Phillies made him a 17th-round selection.

“What a great kid, he was working part time at Subway and gave me cards for free subs,” Fregosi said.

Now, Mathieson pitches for Canada and Yomiuri Giants, champs of the Japanese League.

Taillon worked a scoreless second and then allowed two runs to the Brewers in the third inning.

“I got the first guy and then they kind of strung some hits together,” said Taillon, who is battling a cold.

How strange was his first outing in a Canadian uniform?

“The game is the same,” said the former MVP of the Team USA junior Pan-Am gold medal-winning team. Taillon’s mother, Christie is from the Lawrence Park area Toronto, while his father, Mike, is from St. Andrews, Ont. and currently works in Calgary.“The most interesting guy I’ve met since I’ve joined the team? Probably Robinson.”

Robinson wore a Sidney Crosby jersey to Team Canada’s workout on Monday. Hockey Canada retweeted the pic and the minor-league catcher saw his followers at (@robbie_30) jump “from 150 to over 200.”

Brewers GM Melvin a true fan of the World Baseball Classic

Maybe that’s why he’s out in front of his fellow general managers when it comes to player participation — his players — in the World Baseball Classic.

With 15 Brewers on provisional WBC rosters, Melvin’s Milwaukee Brewers had more than any other club.

“Without money generated from this tournament some smaller countries might have to shut down their baseball federations,” said the Chatham, Ont., born Melvin. “When our guys ask me I tell them what a good idea the tournament is, it helps spread the game.”

Not every GM, assistant GM, farm director, share Melvin’s opinion. The commissioner’s office has instructed every team to make its players eligible as long as they are healthy.

Yet there are plenty of “go if you want, but we’re giving your innings to someone else, you decide” or “nothing is guaranteed when you come back,” discouraging lines.